The Niagara News is the community newspaper of Niagara College located in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is created and produced by the students of the Niagara College Journalism program.

Charges may be pending in Welland bomb discovery

Niagara Regional Police have indicated charges may be pending following the discovery of several homemade bombs at a Welland home.

That’s according to Welland Mayor Frank Campion, speaking about the Oct. 16 discovery of the devices following a residential fire that left one person critically injured.

Few details of the incident have been made available while police and fire department officials continue their investigation.

However, Campion said he does not believe any “present danger” remains.

“From all accounts it was an isolated incident,” Campion told Niagara News. “I’ve been asked, you know, should I be worried about bombs being made around Welland? The answer is no.”

The fire broke out in an upstairs apartment of the building, located at 79 Park St., sometime around 1:38 p.m.

A 41-year-old male resident of the apartment jumped from a second-storey window of the building to escape the fire.

Paramedics treated him on the scene, before he was taken to Welland County General hospital.

He was later transferred to Hamilton General hospital, where he is currently listed in critical condition and being treated for severe smoke inhalation. His identity has not been released by investigators.

When asked about the current condition of the tenant, Campion said: “I have no information on that currently. The last I heard was that he was in critical condition. I would suspect that any information in regards to that would be coming from the Niagara Regional Police, who have indicated that charges may be pending.”

At the time of the blaze, certain homes in the immediate vicinity of the fire were evacuated and power to the entire street was shut off for a time. Those evacuated were unable to return to their homes until around 11 p.m. The fire was confined to the second floor of the building. The downstairs tenants were not home at the time of the incident.

The estimated damage to the building is $200,000.

It’s unclear why the bombs were in the apartment. The NRP’s explosive disposal unit is investigating why the devices – which were reportedly made from propane tanks – did not detonate.

“It’s terrifying. It’s really, really bad. I have kids,” said Shona Ryan, who lives across the street from the scene of the fire.

“I came out when the power went out. There was a guy on the ground, paramedics were putting him on a stretcher and all you could see was smoke and flames all over,” she added.